The Wii is notorious for being the home of some truly awful shovelware. The term refers to sub standard ports of old games. The Wii certainly has more than its fair share of those, but there are decent games for the console. You just have to seek them out. We all know that there are plenty of sports titles and good party games for the Wii but there are other kinds of games too. In this article we’ll take a look at a few recent Wii games you may have missed.

Little King’s Story
This RPG, sim and real time strategy crossover casts you as a young boy who has just been made King. You have to build up your kingdom by commanding your followers and you’ll also embark on adventures and quests. It is an odd game but the fairy tale world is beautifully realised and it has real depth and originality. Easily one of the best new games made exclusively for the Wii.

Swords and Soldiers
Many of the casual games released via WiiWare have been even worse than the usual Wii game roster. There are lots of ports or twists on old arcade games but this title stands out from the crowd. It is a light hearted take on the real time strategy genre and it features a short but fun single player campaign and a split screen multiplayer option. It is chaotic fun and well worth the budget price.

Mad World
This may be style over substance but if you are craving a violently dark and brutal blast of third-person action then you’ll struggle to find a better option on the Wii. It is creative, gory and loads of fun and it offers an adult alternative to the standard Wii releases. It definitely has flaws in the gameplay department and technically it doesn’t achieve all it sets out to do but the visual style alone makes it worth trying.

Cursed Mountain
It may be slow going but this title was developed exclusively for the Wii and it is an atmospheric chiller. This is a survival horror with a decent engaging story which sees you climbing into the Himalayas to try and find your lost brother. Some of the motion based controls are irritating but this ghostly tale does manage to be really quite spooky. You aren’t exactly overwhelmed with options on the Wii if you like horror games so this is one you can’t afford to miss.

Real Heroes: Firefighter
This is a great non-violent alternative to first-person shooters. You play as a rookie fireman and have to save people trapped in fires. You can douse flames to create routes, smash windows and fallen beams with your axe and guide victims to safety. The wonderfully cheesy voiceover audio from your comrades (played by a talented cast) comes through the Wii remote which adds to the atmosphere and this is a refreshingly different game. Real Heroes: Firefighter is available at a budget price and it is fresh and unique.